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Slightly more uzbl

Geir Isene 8 Comments

To make uzbl even more usable, I have added a download viewer script that is easy to configure and maintain. The purpose was to get uzbl to launch the appropriate viewer program when a file is downloaded from the net (like launching mplayer for a downloaded movie or zathura for viewing a downloaded pdf file). Other browsers do this as default, but as there is hardly anything default about uzbl (that is the whole point, really), one is left with the task of finding or creating the best add-ons even for viewing downloaded files. No add-on that I could find did the trick, and so I made one.

uzbl-logo

It wasn’t easy to figure out exactly how to hook a script into uzbl that fires upon a completed download. But with some pointers from people at the uzbl IRC channel, it was very easy to make it work.

Here’s what you do on a Linux system.

Add to your uzbl config file:

@on_event DOWNLOAD_COMPLETE spawn @scripts_dir/downloadviewer.sh %s

Then create the script “downloadviewer.sh” and place it in the scripts folder (on my system, that would be “/usr/share/uzbl/examples/data/scripts/”). Do a “chmod 755” on the file to make it executable. The script would contain something like this:

#!/bin/sh
case "$1" in
*.pdf*) zathura "$1" & ;;
*.jpg*|*.png*|*.jpeg*) feh "$1" & ;;
*.txt*|*README*|*.pl*|*.sh*|*.py*|*.hs*|*.hl*) urxvt -e vim "$1" & ;;
*.mov*|*.avi*|*.mpeg*|*.mpg*|*.flv*|*.wmv*|*.mp4*) mplayer "$1" & ;;
esac

Edit to accommodate for your choice of viewers and file types to view.

Additionally, to set the “download directory” for uzbl, edit the file “/usr/share/uzbl/examples/data/scripts/util/uzbl-dir.sh” and change the line starting with “UZBL_DOWNLOAD_DIR=” to what you like.

hth 🙂

Scientology Bait & Switch, part II

Geir Isene 226 Comments

In the discussion on my first Bait & Switch post, a major reason for Scientology’s failure became apparent.

a_little_bit_of_bait_and_switch

L. Ron Hubbard, the founder, the sole Source, the only true originator of Scientology promoted that his religion will give you real, tangible and objective results. This is the Bait. But when you traverse his one-size-fits-all path to spiritual greatness, The Bridge to Total Freedom, gone are the objective, provable results. Instead you attest to subjective results. With very few exceptions, your gains are not measurable and does not compare to the promised objective gains. This is the switch.

This is a major trick, albeit insidious and difficult to catch as you can read from the discussion under the first Bait & Switch blog post.

Here are some examples of the claims Hubbard made for Scientology (the Bait):

  • Broken bones heal in two weeks instead of six (by X-ray evidence), withered limbs restore, burns vanish, swellings reduce visibly to nothing, lives wrecked by grief and loss recover, women lose their aging wrinkles, and sought after abilities return. (DnT)
  • Chronic, which is to say, long-term illnesses cease when audited by Dianetics and then medical treatment. (DnT)
  • The sickness and death rate of persons who are part of Dianetic groups is only a small fraction of that of other groups. (DnT)
  • Dianetics raises IQ in addition to usual auditing, at a rate of about one point of IQ per hour of processing. (DnT)
  • A Clear can control all his body fluids. (EoaS)
  • A Clear can be tested for any and all psychoses, neuroses, compulsions and repressions (all aberrations) and can be examined for any autogenic (self-generated) diseases referred to as psycho-somatic ills. These tests confirm the Clear to be entirely without such ills or aberrations. (DMSMH)
  • The common cold, for instance, if it is a virus or not, passes him (the Clear) by; chronic infections are absent. (DMSMH)
  • A clear, for instance, has complete recall of everything which has ever happened to him or anything he has ever studied. He does mental computations, such as those of chess, for example, which a normal would do in a half an hour, in ten or fifteen seconds. (DMSMH)
  • A Theta Clear is a person who operates exterior to a body without need of a body. (SH Spec 59)
  • The state of Operating Thetan is higher than Theta Clear and means that the person does not need a body to communicate or work. (CoHA)
  • A good thorough-going Operating Thetan should not take more than fifty hours of auditing. (Ass. Newsl. 1953-04-28)

bait_and_switch-300x251

And here are some results that one actually attests to (the Switch):

  • Knows he/she won’t get any worse.
  • Relief from the hostilities and sufferings of life.
  • Freedom from the upsets of the past and ability to face the future.
  • Moving out of fixed conditions and gaining abilities to do new things.
  • Freedom from dramatization and return of powers to act on own determinism.
  • A Clear: A being who no longer has his reactive mind

While there is no excuse to not revise or apologize for the promised gains when it is not delivered, scientologists continue to justify and explain away this flagrant flaw.

Let’s face the facts; Less than 1% of those that invested time and effort in the subject stayed on in the hope of receiving the promised gain. The failure of Scientology as a subject is massive.

We often hear explanations for Scientology’s downfall like “Scientology is so good that vested interest attacked it from all directions”, “The society was in an dwindling spiral, so Hubbard worked so hard to undercut his method to accommodate for the increasing stupidity and irrationality of the population” or even “Hubbard ran Scientology just perfectly, it was only when David Miscavige took charge that it went south”.

But, applying Occam’s Razor, isn’t the simpler answer that Scientology simply does not deliver on its promises?

It doesn’t much matter that people like me got a lot out of the subject as long as it does not consistently deliver factual, measurable results.

Miscavige, Hubbard, Jesus and The Golden Age of Tech

Geir Isene 155 Comments

While the world of Scientology is buzzing with excitement over the new monumentalt milestone releases that is bound to shake the very foundations of this universe, the outside world runs its course unaffected.

Photo by Anette

Most people will never know about “Super Power” or “The Golden Age of Tech, phase II”. But some are negatively excited and are abuzz with carping criticism of Miscavige and his church. And I managed to muster some interest resulting in a few reflections.

Photo by Mike Rinder

Most have long since discovered that Scientology is far from the world’s fastest growing religion, perhaps it’s even the fastest shrinking religion. If you still believe that Scientology truly is the Only Hope of Mankind, then the only logical target for why the world is not embracing the subject is its leader, David Miscavige. True believers would never question Hubbard or Scientology itself, and instead focus almost exclusively on Miscavige as the True Culprit. He must be a power-hungry, greedy and evil psychopath to be able to halt the obvious expansion and Scientology’s natural take-over as the world’s One True Philosophy. If you don’t believe that Scientology is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then there is less reason to blame only him. Perhaps he is just faced with an impossible task of making a flawed philosophy right by any and all means.

Earlier, I reflected on the creative genius of David Miscavige. I also said I think he is a true believer. I see him being on a relentless quest of making Scientology right. He turns every stone, tries fixing every minor crease and splits every possible hair in order to ensure that Scientology may eventually deliver what Hubbard promised. But what if it never can? I don’t think Miscavige would ever openly utter such a doubt. But I think that his quest does reflect such an inner doubt in himself. Just like I think Hubbard devised Scientology to fix himself, I think Miscavige is working hard to fix his own deeper doubt. Just like Jesus may have tried to sell the world on concepts that he himself finally admitted he doubted at the end.

Maybe most peddlers of philosophy try their best to fix themselves and often attempts to convince others in order to fix their own doubts. Maybe. And the followers are eager buyers as they would want their doubts handled as well. Most people like certainty and are willing takers of anything that can fix their fear, uncertainty or doubt.

It seems ironic that Scientologists outside of the church spend time and effort to justify or make Hubbard’s philosophy right, all the while they criticize Miscavige so harshly – a man that are even more adamant in trying his best to fix the subject. But because he is more intensely active and has set himself up as the sole power, the dictator of Scientology, his mistakes are far better scrutinized.

Regardless of the transient buzz and hoopla – when the dust settles and the lack of OT powers and expansion is again starting to show, I think Miscavige is out of stuff to fix – and the naked emperor will be clearly on display. And then the implosion will become a spectacle to behold. And some will regret they didn’t get busy making a better bridge. But fear not, the evolution of Mankind will find increasingly more effective answers to whatever. As long as we help nudge it ever so slightly in the right direction.

Artwork by me

Asking the youth for the simple solutions

Geir Isene 20 Comments

Every year the organization “Operasjon Dagsverk” (eng. Operation Day’s Work) arranges for students in junior high and highschools to contribute one day’s work to a charity cause.

The students takes responsibility for finding a place to work for a day. The company that accepts the student pays NOK 300 to that year’s charity and puts the student to work. This year the money goes to an educational project in Guatemala. The day was this Thursday (31st October).

My oldest son, Niklas (14) asked if he and two friends could work at Å (a-circle.no). Obviously I took the opportunity. I got the idea of charging them with the task of creating two generic business models – one for Project Management and one for IT Service Management.

The boys got to work and in less than two hours, they delivered an intriguingly simple model for Project Management. Their “SUKK”-model pinpoints responsibilities in a project far better than the ruling model of PRINCE2.

sukk

Their model for IT Service Management was even more succinct and with excellent focus on exact responsibilities. While ITIL is perhaps the best professional model for corroding responsibility in an IT organization, their SAO model goes straight for the kill with no wishy-washy or overlapping responsibilities.

sao

In addition to this, I got them to define the term “delivery” and had them write down exact deliveries for roles such as “a baker”, “a teacher”, “a student”, “a Prime Minister” and “an architect” as well as writing down their own personal deliveries in life. I have done this exercise many times with groups of executives and experts from businesses and government agencies. These boys were amazing and I believe they did a better and more efficient job than any other group I’ve seen.

The NOK 900 generated amazing value as I will use the results from this day in many seminars and talks to come.

Thanks to Niklas, Isak and Alf-Johan.

Særoppgave om Scientologi?

Geir Isene 2 Comments

Skal du skrive om Scientologi i en særoppgave på skolen? Vanskelig å få noen fra Scientologikirken i tale? Vel, jeg stiller mer enn gjerne opp og svarer på spørsmål.

Jeg er den eneste i Norge som har gjort alle nivåene i Scientologi helt opp til “OT 8”. Jeg kjenner alle delene av emnet og organisasjonen – og jeg snakker fritt og åpent om alt – både de positive og de negative aspektene. Du kan spørre om hva som helst, og jeg gir direkte og ærlige svar. Du får det du trenger for å levere en heftig god oppgave – ikke bare mengder av informasjon om Scientologi og hvordan Scientologikirken fungerer, men tips til hvordan du kan bygge opp særoppgaven til å få en god flyt, gode poenger og en bra form.

I boka “Nittenåttifire” får du mengder av stoff du kan bruke, mens et direkte intervju vil gi deg ennå mer. Ta kontakt dersom du vil ta hjem en god karakter 🙂

Tough questions…

Geir Isene 437 Comments

…I should be asked.

Since I left the Church of Scientology I have been asked thousands of questions. Many were simple and easy to answer, others were more tricky and harder to reply to. There are a few questions that could put me in a tight spot and that would be hard to answer. Although they have been touched upon, no one have yet asked me these directly. And so I take the matters into my own hands.

First the questions:

  1. You claim you have had heaps of gains from Scientology. Yet you criticize the subject that helped you get those gains. Are you not in fact “burning the bridge” behind you and hinder others to get the same gains as yourself?
  2. When you talk about your gains in Scientology, are you not running the risk of encouraging others to become victims of the biggest cult trap known to Man?
  3. Every time you talk about your gains in Scientology, should you not be responsible enough to also inform about the dangers, the destroyed lives?
  4. When you criticize Scientology, should you not be responsible enough to also inform about the marvels of the tech, your gains and the only hope for Mankind.
  5. Are you not done yet?

Then the answers:

  1. After having discussed Scientology openly for 4 years, I realize that I was lucky living on the fringe of the Scientology world when I was in for 25 years. Others were less fortunate and have been victims of much more pressure and oppression in the church. Lives have been destroyed, families broken apart. I believe that every person should be able to make informed decisions about whatever they may decide to get involved in. Informed decisions require open access to all relevant information – both the good and the bad. I do not believe in hiding or not revealing anything bad or good in a subject that may come so close to your mind and spirit as Scientology. All information should be freely accessible on the Net, and through discussions, people can learn and avoid harmful involvements and make use of what they think will help them.
  2. See answer #1.
  3. I feel no obligation to bloat my blog posts with anything else but the succinct points I am trying to convey.
  4. See answer #3.
  5. I live on a whim. I do what I enjoy. And I continue to enjoy this until I enjoy something else. Who knows when I am done blogging, discussing or babbling about Scientology? Not me.

It really is that simple. Got any other tough questions for me? Shoot!

1984: Looking to partner up with a US publisher

Geir Isene 13 Comments

After really good responses from readers in the Norwegian market, my publisher (Humanist Forlag) is looking for a US publiser as a partner to release my book to the English speaking market.

1984

This is the only book on Scientology written by a person who has done all the secret levels, and who reveals them all. The book gives an inside account on how it is to be a public Scientologist, about my gains in Scientology, the challenges, weirdness, mysteries and crap.

There are plenty of books that is looking at Scientology from the outside. And lots of books written by former executives within the Church of Scientology. This book tells a story from the ranks of the public Scientologists – a 25-year journey from the bottom of The Bridge to Total Freedom and all the way to the highest secret level, OT 8. This could have been your story, or your brother’s or sister’s, or a friend’s.

People should know what they enter into when they walk through the doors of the church. The book is balanced and throughly relates both the good and the bad in the controversial religion. The information in this book deserves to be open and accessible to all English readers. An English version would spell the end of the secrecy and mystery surrounding the greatest cash cows for the church.

There has already been hundreds of people asking me to get the book out in English. And so I put this out here to see if readers might have interesting connections that could lead to an English version being published in the near future. Feel free to spread the word.

From a talk on my book and my 25 years in Scientology

From a talk on my book and my 25 years in Scientology

Scientology bait & switch

Geir Isene 350 Comments

The first part of Scientology’s Bridge to Total Freedom helps the person take responsibility for his own mind and his own issues.

From the bottom of the Bridge to OT 2, the person exercises his ability to take responsibility over his own mind matters.

From OT 3 and up to OT 8, the Bridge is all about blaming others for one’s issues. The person works on shifting blame to imaginary entities that he is told is stuck to his body. Hubbard calls these entities Body Thetans (BTs), remnants from a sci-fi catastrophe 75 million years ago. And every person on Earth presumably has thousands if not millions of these spiritual flees stuck to and around his body and pestering him. They are supposedly the source of odd sensations, pain and discomfort and can make him behave irrationally. Whatever mental issue the person has, it is the fault of these BTs.

The first part of the Bridge is the Bait. The second part is the Switch.

  • Why do OTs blindly follow the commands of the mad dictator, the pope of the Church of Scientology, David Miscavige?
  • Why are there few if any OTs that make real positive impact in the world today? Or even in their own neighborhood?
  • Why can’t the OTs in the church stop their religion from sinking faster than the Titanic?

Could it be that their responsibility is driven down to the level of a lemming?

Could this also explain why Hubbard found so many enemies to blame – from the CIA, KGB, APA, psychologists, psychiatrists, the media, the bankers, SPs, anti-scientologists, Xenu, the Marcabians and BTs – lots and lots of BTs?

I have hardly seen a group with that many perceived enemies and where the blame-game is on such a high gear. The International Executives blames the lower rank Sea Org members (the super-clergy), the Sea Org blames the outer Organization Staff and the those Staff blames each other and the public. And everybody blames the Suppressive Persons (the SPs). The shifting of responsibilities is massive.

Personal freedom and harmony is possible, but the road to tranquility is certainly not paved with blame, but rather with love, forgiveness, giving, care and fun.

Update(2013-11-03): After discussing this in great length, I have come to the conclusion that the above is merely a special case of Bait and Switch in Scientology. It is known to relatively few people. What should be much broader known and what constitutes a much more fundamental Bait & Switch at the foundations of the Bridge is this: Hubbard promised a great many objective, real and testable gains from Scientology. These range from a stack of abilities that you would get when you become Clear (see Dianetics) as well as a range of special (OT) abilities higher on the Bridge. All testable and objective, such as Freedom From Overwhelm (OT 3) and Out-of-body experiences (OBEs). But, when you are to attest on the various levels you attain on The Bridge to Total Freedom, the vast majority (if not all) of the End Phenomenas (EPs/gains) are strictly subjective. Promising objective gains is the Bait, delivering subjective gains is the Switch. It’s like a school would promise that you will attain a certain level of math skills, but at the end of the year you would attest to “I feel good at math”. A classic Bait & Switch.

A method for helping another

Geir Isene 103 Comments

I have gotten many requests to post more about what I do when I help people as a coach and mental trainer.

The toolbox is large and contains a vast array of methods to help others depending on what they want to achieve. But above all, I hold the attitude that the other person’s interest, desires and goals are more important than any tool or method. I practice winging it more than anything else.

But there is one tool that I often use to help a person get back on his feet. It is a method I have found very effective when dealing with everything from a person coping or struggling to those who consider taking their own lives. This has nothing to do with introspection or therapy – I leave that to others. It has everything to do with getting shit done.

Here’s the simple way you can help another (or yourself):

  1. Tell the person to write a list of everything he hasn’t completed. Everything that nags him, that he thinks he should have done or should do. Every bad conscience. Everything. If it takes a stack of papers, it takes a stack of papers. If the list is short, so be it. But ensure you have exhausted his bad conscience. You are not interested in why the actions wasn’t done or any explanation for them. Forget prioritizations or categorizations at this point. The list can be all messy or upside-down. Doesn’t matter. Just get everything down on paper.
  2. Tell the person to remove everything he no longer has the opportunity or ability to do. This could be items like “Be a firefighter before I become 25 years old” (he is now 35) or “Be the next great goal keeper on Barcelona Football Club” (he is 35 and has a bad left knee). Strike out anything that he can no longer do. Make sure he also removes it from his mind.
  3. Tell the person to remove everything he no longer wants to do. No matter what the reason is, anything that he really doesn’t want to do is removed from the list. Make sure he also removes it from his mind. He now has a list of actions that he can, will and should complete.
  4. Prioritize. In the order of what is really bothering him. The worst shit goes on the top, and all the way down to the more insignificant itches.
  5. Make him do the one thing that bothers him the most. Help him. Complete the action together with him, or sit there while he completes it. Then make him do the second biggest source of worry. Then the third, the fourth and so on. Until you are confident he can do more actions on the list as home work. Follow it through until the person himself is confident he can do anything on such a list all by himself.

check

You do this, and you will have a friend for life. And your friend will have a different life. This happens to be the tool I use that has the most profound effect on a person who is struggling in life.

Try it. Let me know how it goes.